Finsbay Flatiron, Woodlands, Glasgow

Externally very scruffy, this bar's interior is quite a contrast, because although the walls feature bare brick and stone, and there is some reclaimed timber in evidence, the overall impression is of a very large and very smart kitchen-cum-dining room, with white tables, modern dining chairs and low-hung lights everywhere. There's smart bench seating around the walls and quite clearly a lot of money has been spent getting all the details just right, including a fake fireplace and a corner on the way to the toilets which has the look and feel of an upmarket art gallery. So why not smarten up the outside? The other let-down for me was the absence of real ale on the bar. The beers are all lagers, brewed according to German recipes and featuring such styles as hefeweissen, Munich red and a black lager. The ones I tried were pretty bland affairs, not helped by the low temperature and gassiness typical of this style of beer. The most palatable was the unfiltered lager, Wild West, which would be enough to tempt me back if in the area again.